Emilio Grau Sala (1911–1975) was a Spanish (Catalan) painter, illustrator and printmaker from Barcelona who settled in Paris in 1936, at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. His paintings are held by the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris and museums in Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Philadelphia. Rooted in Impressionism and Fauvism, his lively, colourful work depicts Parisian life, interiors and elegant women with gentle charm.
Emilio Grau Sala (1911–1975) was a Spanish (Catalan) painter, illustrator and printmaker, born in Barcelona. He studied at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts, although he is often considered largely self-taught, and held his first solo exhibition in Barcelona at the age of eighteen. In 1936, at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he left for Paris with his wife, the painter Ángeles Santos, and settled there. In Paris he remained committed to figurative painting rooted in Impressionism and Fauvism, working in oil, watercolour and pastel with a lively, varied palette. His scenes of Parisian life, interiors and elegant women – rendered with gentle charm and a distinctly Spanish sensibility – became widely popular. Grau Sala was also active as a book illustrator and designed theatre sets and costumes as well as restaurant interiors. He exhibited in Paris, Madrid, London, Buenos Aires and New York, took part in the Salon Comparaisons and was a member of the group around Maurice Boitel. His paintings are held in public collections including the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris and museums in Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Philadelphia. The lithograph “Le Petit ami” (“The Little Friend”, 1960), numbered 76/80, is offered by TUMO Gallery.
